Dare
by Meriko-chan
Summary: Mirror-fic to Irresistible written from Fye's point of view, explaining his motivations and showing the ways in which Kurogane can see through the man's lies but not understand what he's looking at.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This is the same story as "Irresistible" but from Fye's point of view instead of Kurogane's. I wanted to give an explanation of Fye's motivations and show how Kurogane misinterpreted almost everything the wizard did.

Rated T just to be safe, for language (come on, it's a Kuro-fic, there HAS to be coarse language) and a vague reference to two men in bed together. Story takes place between Piffle and LeCourt. Complete author's notes will be tacked on at the very end of the final chapter.

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><p>The first thing Fye had felt when they'd landed in this new world several days ago was relief. It was, by now, as much a part of the arrival process as the reflexive reactions to a new world's physical realities. The agile wizard would automatically adjust to the pull of gravity, and as soon as he felt sure his head was pointed up and his feet were pointed down, he would try to catch scents and sounds and sights. This time, Mokona had released them neatly just a few feet above the ground - and it had thankfully ibeeni ground, not water or mud or quicksand - but it had still left time enough for Fye to see green grass, smell moist sun-warmed earth, and feel that rush of relief and gratitude once again.

_Not Celes._

Both the relief and the underlying fear had been habitually kept neatly out of sight from the others behind one of his usual sunny smiles, but he couldn't hide these things from himself. The fear had been steadily ignored as usual but the relief was becoming disturbing.

The former emotion was obvious in its origins and needed no self-examination or explanation. The wish he'd bargained for with the Dimensional Witch had been to travel, and keep traveling, that he might never need to go home. However, the high price of his wish had necessitated it being combined with Kurogane's wish to go back home and Syaoran's wish to travel to wherever it was necessary in order to gather up Sakura-chan's memory feathers. Fye couldn't be certain that their consolidated, generalized wish of being able to travel across worlds and dimensions contained the caveat that they would eventually visit Nihon but definitely never land in Celes. In fact, since there was still a feather in Celes, the complete fulfillment of Syaoran's wish meant that Fye's wish could not be maintained indefinitely. And so when Mokona sprouted her wings and sucked the travelers into her mouth, Fye would cheerfully wonder aloud where they'd land next with a carefree come-what-may attitude and try to keep his heart rate under control as he steeled himself for the possibility of ice and snow and blood.

The fear was unpleasant, of course, but it was only one of many unpleasant things he had to keep to himself. In point of fact it was the least unpleasant of them all and he would have gladly bargained for nothing worse than constant, unending fear in exchange for being sure that he would never again have to stand in his replacement homeland and face his adoptive father figure and King. It was a coward's solution, perhaps, but Fye preferred embracing life as a coward to the alternative of facing down his savior and ending the man's existence. Perhaps it was just the way he was built. He couldn't find fault with his decision to accept banishment rather than kill his twin or force his brother to carry the burden of murdering him, but when he looked back at his life after Valeria, Fye now sometimes wondered if he was deceiving himself by thinking that he'd always made the best choices he could have under difficult, almost impossible circumstances.

He didn't exactly remember deliberately taking what he thought of as a coward's way out, or the easy way out, or the lazy way out. He'd only begun to wonder if his actions were cowardly rather than courage fairly recently, now that there was such an example of manly bravery so strikingly different from his own style right in front of his face all of the time. The blonde's decision to flee Celes had certainly not been born out of fear of fighting his King but rather from love and gratitude to the man who'd rescued him from the valley of endless torment and shown him and his brother's corpse tenderness and acceptance. And instead of hesitation and timidity, he'd felt determination to bear hardships, endure as long as need be, and do whatever needed to be done at the start of his new life in Celes. He hadn't taken on his brother's name and personality in order to hide behind them, but instead to keep them alive and in safekeeping until the day he would be able to return them, along with the life he'd stolen.

_Oh sweet Saints, how had he done it? How could he have done it?_

He recalled with horrific clarity the sound of his childish voice demanding with unwavering determination and decision that he himself be the one to be rescued from the timeless valley instead of his brother, but he couldn't remember thinking the offer over or coming to that unthinkable decision. Those memories were lost, his own soul apparently shrinking from looking into such a dark moment, and only holding onto the sound of him speaking his decision as a necessary weapon of self-torment. The double-expatriate couldn't remember committing the crime, but he held himself responsible for paying the price, and after having vowed to do so, had never wavered from his decision in the years since.

At least, not until very recently.

This was where the relief he felt upon landing in each new world became disturbing, because it was no longer mere relief at having delayed the dreaded confrontation for one more world. He was beginning to dream that the day would never come; that these adventures with the others would continue on forever. He hardly knew how it had started. Probably in a deliberately self-mocking question of, "now wouldn't it be nice if this was just the way it was from now on?" without expecting any answer from himself except for sadness at the certainty that it could never be. His own quick wit had gotten away from him and begun spinning fantasies, and before he knew it, Fye was neck deep in wistful daydreams. He was already running from his King and hoping never to have to see him again. It wasn't so far a stretch of the imagination to think of running forever from the chessmaster who stood opposite to the Dimensional Witch and of never having to confront him again either.

Fye knew from first hand experience that bad things happened to good people. Who was to say they couldn't happen to bad people too? Fei-Wang Reed probably had a line of vengeful victims a mile long waiting in the shadows, hoping for justice or retribution. Perhaps one of them would slip a knife between the man's ribs or burn a magical hole between the man's eyes one day and release Fye from his influence without any additional guilt being laid upon the Valerian's slender shoulders. Or perhaps the monocle'd megalomaniac would simply slip in the bathroom one day and break his neck. Maybe he'd eat some bad fish and die.

During these mental wanderings, the wizard shut his eyes to the other princeling's destiny that hung upon Reed's failure or success. He told himself that he wasn't abandoning his brother, even in thought. These were just daydreams, not wishes he was making or plots he was hatching. If he suddenly found himself standing over an unconscious Fei-Wang Reed with a sword in his hand, the blonde knew he wouldn't strike. It would be a dual murder of both his keeper and his brother. He could have committed the former, but not the latter, even though in one sense he already had.

But it didn't keep him from daydreaming.

Maybe they'd gather up enough of Sakura-chan's feathers to make her nearly whole again, but the conflict of Fye and Syaoran's wishes would keep them traveling endlessly, unable to stop until Syaoran found the last feather but unable to find it because Fye's wish kept them out of Celes. The determined little band would not stop trying, but they'd also gradually break free of the stasis their lives were in. Syaoran and Sakura-chan were already relearning to laugh, and the princess also seemed to be relearning to love from what keen blue eyes could see. Mr. Tall Dark and Homicidal was still his usual self, but Fye knew that the man's "usual self" held far more kindness and thoughtfulness than first impressions had revealed. The ninja just needed to loosen up the iron hold he kept on himself to make their happy little family a perfectly happy little picture. They even had a family pet of sorts, though Mokona was usually given the honor of being considered the eldest child rather than a pet.

He could see them now, five years or so later, maybe more, still dropping out of thin air to land in new worlds. Syaoran would be taller, and heavier too, with the musculature of a warrior thanks to his mentor's rigorous training regimen. Sakura-chan would have grown out of her childish charm and into the bloom of young womanhood. Perhaps wedding bands would grace the young couple's hands. Perhaps there would even be a tiny addition to their party. The serious young man would certainly protest the idea of starting a family while their oft-times dangerous quest continued, but accidents happened, especially when one had such a sweet little spouse at one's side and also had to deal with heightened emotions and adrenaline on a fairly consistent basis.

Kurogane would look much the same, no doubt. A handful of years would mean little to one still so comparatively young and in such good health. Perhaps there would be another scar to add to his dangerous demeanor. Perhaps there would be more frequent smiles to reveal his hidden nature. If there was a Syaoran Junior or Little Sakura to tote around, Fye would have to get the ninja used to being called "Grandpa" instead of "Daddy". The man would probably roar out that he was far too young for such a nickname, and perhaps by then Fye would be able to pry out a grudging admission that the man preferred "Kuro-sama" or "Kuro-rin" to the patriarchal titles. It would be growled out, of course; Kurogane had a very healthy pride, but there would be no real heat in the tone and Fye could imagine a little sidelong glance and nearly imperceptible smile that would speak of mutual understanding and comfortable affection. A little laugh escaped him at the idea as he cut his blue eyes over to the dark-haired man as if thinking to share the joke, and Fye very nearly startled as he was glared at.

Right. Just a daydream.

He covered up the slip by raising his eyebrows and keeping his eyes faux-innocently wide as he smiled inquiringly at the ninja.

"Whatever could be the matter with Daddy?" he wondered aloud. "It can't be the weather; it's a perfectly pretty day to take a nice long walk with the children."

"Quit fooling around and pay attention," the ninja snapped. "Dangers aren't restricted to nighttime." And with that, the dark-haired man turned away and continued stalking through the grass, leading the little band northward - or at least, what they assumed was north on this unfamiliar world - on a search for civilization. Syaoran followed a few steps behind, slowing sometimes to keep his princess within sight as she did her best to keep up with the ninja's long strides, though her progress was impeded by long grass and a long-eared bunny-esque creature in her arms distracting her with incessant chatter. Fye was the rearguard, sandwiching the "children" between the two adults in a silent concession to Kurogane's insistence that they remain on alert despite having spent a week on this planet already without seeing so much as a lone wolf or traveling merchant, much less a pack of dragons or horde of pillaging barbarians. He didn't stay silent on the subject, however, and spent at least a little bit of each breakfast and dinner teasing his taller companion about the disparity between the peacefulness of the planet and Daddy's overprotective paranoia.

For now, however, he kept his mouth shut and relaxed slightly as he got away clean with his daydreaming. Kurogane had proven over and over to have preternaturally keen sight and insights, and it was too easy to get careless and think that the callous disregard with which he was treated meant that the man wasn't paying attention, and that he didn't care. Protest he might, but Fye knew Kurogane was kind and caring. If it were otherwise, the dark-haired man wouldn't have had all those insightful comments to make or sound advice to give, the "Daddy" nickname Mokona had given wouldn't have stuck if the man hadn't been so watchful and protective, and Fye wouldn't have found so much joy in teasing and tormenting him if there hadn't been a good nature hidden underneath all the grump.

Fye likely wouldn't be daydreaming about never-ending adventures with the man, either.

It wasn't just the knowledge he'd gained about the ninja being a sort of chestnut; soft and smooth on the inside and prickly-hard on the outside. Fye knew that he himself was gaining a place in the ninja's thoughts and perhaps heart. The wizard's wary watchfulness wasn't just the defense mechanism he'd intended it to be. It allowed him to observe his companions in unguarded moments just as his chatty overtures let him get to know them in a more direct manner. Kurogane put up with Mokona's sweet silliness with patience, responded to the potential that he saw in Syaoran, and found echoes of home in protecting the Princess of Clow since the Princess of Nihon was not within reach. And Fye felt that he himself was trusted and relied upon, despite the fact that Kurogane made it obvious that he knew the wizard was hiding things. It was hard to explain, even - or perhaps especially - to himself, but he felt it to be so.

When they'd first landed on this idyllic world of pleasant scenery and perfect weather and peaceful nothingness, the band of travelers had done little more than investigate the hilltop they'd landed on before deciding to move on once they found that Mokona couldn't get any sense of one of the princess's feathers. The little white creature's attempt to whisk them all away had failed, however, and she had cried out in confusion that her skills were unavailable to her all of a sudden. She couldn't trigger her travel ability nor open a portal through which to communicate with Yuuko-san, and even an attempt to swallow up a note to send to the Witch resulted in nothing more spectacular than Mokona mumbling around a mouthful of crinkling parchment. Thankfully, her innate abilities still seemed to be in play, and they were all still able to understand each other. She cheerfully claimed that her excellent timing and sense of humor were also still intact, which drew laughter from the blonde half of the party, at least.

Fye had cast about with his eyes, then, as if searching the surrounding landscape for inspiration, but in reality all his focus had been turned inward, and he'd soon realized that his own magical abilities were severely suppressed. There was a dampening effect in play, but the very fact of it existing kept him from being able to pinpoint it or investigate how it might be negated. He'd turned his face and attention back to the others and found red eyes fixed on him in a steady gaze and a minuscule arching of perpetually frowning brows.

_Well?_ that look had seemed to ask.

With nothing useful to contribute but no wish to state so aloud and possibly add to the worries of the children, Fye had give the other man a small shake of his head and a little shrug while the other three were occupied with each other.

_I've got nothing, sorry._

Kurogane had turned immediately away and begun making suggestions - or rather giving orders - that they pick a likely looking direction and try to find civilization and hopefully answers. It could have been seen as a rude dismissal but Fye knew it was otherwise. The ninja had expected the wizard to turn his mind to the problem and when Fye came back with a less than satisfactory response, it had been accepted straightaway for what it was. The nearly constant bickering between them was a byproduct of the secretive wizard's desire to keep everyone from getting too close by being overly familiar with them. When left alone, Kurogane showed - perhaps without realizing it or intending to - that he thought of Fye as a reliable adult and ally, whose intelligence and character could be trusted in the moment even if there were secrets and motives kept hidden.

The blonde danced an uneasy dance with himself, finding satisfaction in these little discoveries and trying not to acknowledge to himself that he was doing so, because that would be admitting that he needed to do a better job of shutting everyone out and keeping them at a safe distance. It was like stepping along the crenellations of a parapet wall with your eyes shut, and telling yourself there were no dangers before you since you couldn't see any.

Compounding Fye's problem was the fact that the world they were currently trapped in was not giving him anything to do _except_ dance along his metaphorical parapet.

While their situation was by no means dire, the weather being warm and their surroundings being equally full of good foraging and hunting and empty of hazards and enemies, still the travelers could not simply shrug their shoulders and settle down. Each had their hopes and fears and desires to attend to, and no matter how idyllic their current location, it could not satisfy them. They did what they could, walking each day in the same direction, hoping to leave behind whatever was negatively influencing the magical abilities of the party or find people who could help them find a solution. Fye also kept a careful inner eye on the level of repression his magic was suffering and actual eyes on their surroundings. After a week, he felt certain that it was not his imagination telling him that the mysterious dampening effect was fading slightly with each passing day. Besides the fact that they were traveling steadily in one direction, the only other change he could see in their situation was that the large, ever-present moon in the sky was waning. It had been nearly full when they'd landed, and each day the shadow of another planet or star cast itself just a tiny bit further across the pale blue face.

He decided to experiment.


	2. Chapter 2

"Daaaddy~" he trilled, trotting up closer to his target and grinning as the shadowy figure at the head of their little column tensed and then whirled around with a snarl. The man was so delightfully straightforward and therefore predictable. Also predictably, Sakura-chan cringed slightly, Mokona squealed, and Syaoran doggedly kept walking, either predicting or hoping that the wizard's desire to dance with danger would pass quickly.

"Stop calling me that!" Kurogane barked. Fye gave him his best sweetly innocent look - his "Sakura-chan face" - in response.

"Did you change your mind about 'Big Doggy'?" he asked, referring back to the banter they'd exchanged while fighting off demons in the virtual reality of world of Outo.

"Don't call me _any_ of your stupid nicknames," the easily exasperated man snapped. "In fact don't talk to me at all unless you've got something useful to say!" With that, he whirled back around and took a step. One step was all he accomplished, however, because Fye immediately called out after him again, his voice even more sugary and airy than before.

"Kuro-papaaa~"

The ninja turned right back around, this time with Souhi sliding out of its sheath with a silvery sound, but Fye was ready.

"I saw some likely fishing spots in the river bend we just passed, and there's probably plenty of game in the trees on the other side," the blonde began, his tone suddenly quite normal as he walked calmly forward to meet the man instead of skipping away laughing. A little thrill of triumph put a tiny spring in Fye's step at seeing how Kurogane was momentarily thrown off-balance by the change in his demeanor.

_Ha. Didn't see that coming, did you?_

"I think we should encamp now, and set snares and maybe spend a day or two here laying in heartier provisions than what we've been foraging." Fye didn't bother explaining why it was a good idea to chase more significant sources of protein than the random bird to cross their path, or intimate that just because the foraging was good so far didn't mean that it would continue to be so, making a supply of dried meat and fish a valuable asset. The ninja was a big boy and could be left to figure certain things out on his own.

Fye waited for not very long at all while Kurogane wrestled his irritation down in order to examine the suggestion rationally. As hoped, the spiky head nodded in agreement, and soon enough everyone was busy at their self-appointed tasks. At least, Syaoran and Sakura-chan set to with a will, with Mokona "supervising". Fye, however, found himself unable to resist following up his successful manipulation of the ninja with a bit of teasing, which resulted in a slight delay in the adults pitching in.

"We need plenty of fresh meat to keep Kuro-wan fed," he exclaimed, his voice once again outrageously chipper and bright. The blonde's body language underwent an equally extreme change as he slinked a couple of steps closer and then bent over sideways to peer up coyly at the once-again bristling warrior. "If we let Big Doggy starve for flesh, he might snap and devour one of us in the middle of the night!" Fye grinned cheekily and began counting down in his head as red eyes narrowed and a deep breath was drawn into a massive ribcage.

Three.

Two.

Run.

He dug his heel into the grassy ground and jerked back just in time to avoid the tan fingers that were hooked into claws and lashing out for his collar, presumably to throw him to the ground so that he could be beaten silly. Or dead. Fye skipped backward a couple more steps and got ready to dodge the swordstrike he knew would be next, wondering briefly what Kurogane would do if Fye chose, one day, not to dodge. Would surprise stop him dead? Would pride make him follow through with a light pummeling that he hadn't ever intended to actually deliver? For Fye knew that Kurogane was only playing at homicidal intentions. He'd seen the ninja in battle against foes both worthy and not, and knew that the man could _move_. The manner in which he chased after Fye was pitiful and pathetic in comparison of the dexterity and speed he threw at a real enemy.

Kurogane's attempts to kill Fye always began with a grab or slash from a standstill before breaking into a chase. He let the wizard set the speed and pushed only so far and fast as he knew would be easily evaded. They'd long ago taken their measure of each other's abilities and with familiarity had come an increase in speed and seemingly deadly intent. To an outsider, each dog-chasing-cat moment would look like a serious attempt on the ninja's part to maim or murder, with the wizard just barely escaping each strike by the skin of his pearly whites. From an insider's perspective, however, it was apparent that the dark-haired man was only putting enough heat into his movements to keep up appearances. Pride and temper made him chase and threaten. Something else kept him from making any serious attempt to harm.

The two tall figures described a large circle around the in-progress campsite, Fye throwing in a few more outrageous comments during the first fifty feet to make sure the chase lasted full-circle. He overshot his goal slightly and held up his hands placatingly in a surrendering gesture as he laughed and backed up from his pursuer once they'd come back to the starting point. Kurogane sheathed Souhi with a sharp click and then tried to glare a hole through Fye's head.

"Quit wasting time and do something useful for once," the taller snapped, turning to help Syaoran set up a makeshift tent for the princess and bun to shelter in. The nights had so far been so mild that the males had simply bedded down in the grass under the stars and moon each night, but the princess was more lightly dressed than the others in addition to being deserving of greater privacy according to gender and station.

"I was staking out a perimeter," Fye sang out, laughing lightly at the slight hitch in the ninja's steps and tensing of those broad shoulder. He could almost hear the man's blood pressure rising another notch. "It was nice of you to keep me company, Kuro-rin." He cut himself off before he earned another chase 'round the campsite, and laughingly scooped up and hushed up Mokona who had belatedly joined in on the fun by exclaiming over how sweet it was that Daddy had wanted to go on a walk with Mommy. The wizard distracted the sweet little bun by claiming her assistance in gathering firewood, citing her ability to bound about quickly yet stay low to the ground as invaluable, and her eagerness to please and be of use secured him her immediate compliance.

Fye leaped easily across a narrow part of the river with Mokona in his arms, and then the two made a quick foray into the sparse edge of the woods near their campsite. The little white creature enthusiastically pointed out piles of dry deadfall, and soon the wizard had an armful of firewood as well as a couple of handfuls of sinewy vines from which fat, starchy tubers hung. The campsite was completely set up by the time they returned, with a large circular area cleared of grass and hollowed out slightly to serve as a fire pit, and the younger two travelers busily preparing ingredients for soup with the grains and herbs they'd been gathering as they walked that day. The roots Fye had found were added to the pile to turn the soup into more of a hearty stew, and then he crouched down near his firewood pile. Finding Kurogane simply standing nearby, the blonde waggled a stick at him to catch his attention.

"Kuro-wanta, fetch!" he chirped, as soon as those red eyes slid over to fix him with their customary death glare, and then hurriedly continued speaking before the man blew up into another shout-and-slash tirade. "I couldn't carry enough firewood to last the entire night, and we'll need extra for smoking and drying anything we catch. I'll make another trip too, but can you go first while I get the fire started?"

The dark-haired man muttered something at him that was probably not very complimentary but stalked away to do as Fye had requested, and the shorter man smiled after the retreating figure. It was tempting to just get the fire going and run after the other, but he knew he'd catch hell for leaving the children alone, especially with the day fading into night and nocturnal predators beginning to stir. He was pretty sure that if there were any significant dangers lurking about in this peculiarly peaceful world they'd have run into it by now or at least found some clues in observing the local flora and fauna, but nothing was certain, and while he argued the point with the ninja daily and was sure Syaoran could be trusted to take care of the girls in an emergency, Fye generally complied with Kurogane's desire that no chances be taken with the group's safety.

He had enough blood on his hands already.

The evening passed quietly, with the usual topic of their situation and options only being tossed around for ten minutes or so before it died off. The possibilities were limited, and logic or optimism kept the subject from attaining longevity after the little group had discussed it a handful of times. Most of tonight's pass at it consisted merely of Syaoran supporting Sakura-chan's optimistic hopes, and Mokona echoing everything they said, after which they chatted quietly on random topics ranging from memories of worlds they'd visited and stories of civilizations Syaoran had studied. Kurogane sat quietly near the edge of the ring of firelight, apparently enjoying the peace and quiet while slowly scanning the horizon about them, and Fye let him as he silently did some math.

It was difficult to lay it all out without the aid of paper and pen, but the quick-witted wizard managed fairly well. By the time he was ready to roll over and sleep, he had his calculations sorted out and a plan for revisiting them the next evening in place. Barring an unfortunate earthquake re-shaping the landscape around them, Fye expected to be able to test his theory before bedtime the next day. He lulled himself to sleep by going over his calculations a few times and then indulging in replaying some of his daydreams, hoping to live them in his dreams instead of having to suffer through his usual nightmares.

The wizard spent so many of his waking hours fearfully looking back over his shoulder that it was rather refreshing to look forward to anything, and he found the next day's anticipation and waiting to be more pleasant than tedious. The fact that they had tasks to attend to probably helped the time to speed away. After the party finished off the leftover stew from the previous night's dinner in the morning, they separated and left camp to spend the day in gathering supplies. Sakura-chan and Mokona wandered to and fro in the long grass, gathering grain in the baskets the princess had woven in days past. Syaoran served as guard and pack-mule, and occasionally handed the girls over to Fye's care in order to go and check the snares the young man had set in the woods. Fye multi-tasked by fishing and watching his "daughters" pick berries from the bushes growing by the river, and benefitted from babysitting when Sakura-chan's uncanny luck led him to a much better fishing spot than he'd originally chosen himself.

The blondes and bun retreated to the campsite at midday to prepare a meal of roasted fish for everyone to share in, and Fye distracted himself away from the temptation to take some early measurements by setting himself to the task of keeping Sakura-chan distracted from her worries over Syaoran-kun with light chatter and lighter teasing. They figured out how to neatly scale, gut and debone the fish after ruining only two of them, and covered up their mistakes by forming small patties out of the mangled flesh along with some ground-up grain and herbs, and then cooking them on a flat stone from the river laid over some of the glowing coals at the edge of the campfire. Fye then began designing and constructing low-lying racks of fresh vines and sticks, and laid out the extra halves of fish over them to smoke and dry by the fire. Syaoran returned with some small ground animals he'd snared while this was going on, and Fye grabbed a stick of fish for himself and left with his portable lunch to resume fishing soon afterwards, leaving the boy to watch over the princess, the princess to watch over the fire, and Mokona to chaperone.

Fye had only finished his meal and caught another couple of fish before he caught sight of a familiar figure stalking out of the woods, and he sat up straighter under the tree he was leaning against and called out a greeting.

"Hyuuu! Big Doggy can _hunt_!" Fye sang out, clapping his hands at the carcass Kurogane had slung over one shoulder. The blonde thought it resembled a sort of deer, though the hide was much darker and finer than he was used to seeing, and the fact that the head was missing made identification a bit harder. The scathing look shot over in his direction would have made anyone else fear for their own neck next, but Fye just grinned and stood up, ostensibly to prance over and admire the kill, but actually to make sure he was on his feet and ready to run if need be.

"Quit that fake whistling," Kurogane growled, letting his prize fall to the ground with a thud. The "do it right or don't do it at all" philosophy was typical of the man and his straightforward character, and Fye hid a fond smile under his cheeky grin.

"That is _not_ how to properly tenderize a haunch," the amateur chef clucked in mock disapproval, and got a scornful critique of his fishing efforts in return.

"Two fish? At this rate you'll have enough for today's lunch caught in time for tomorrow's dinner."

"Three fish now, I think," Fye replied with airy unconcern, nodding at one of his lines as it twitched and jerked. "Plus the dozen that I already caught, cleaned and cooked. Kitties are good at fishing, Kuro-wanwan; Little Kitty showed me where to fish, and I've been earning my keep all morning! Do I get a pat on the head?" He tilted his head ingratiatingly and sidled up, but only got a snort and an eyebrow raise for his troubles.

"You'll get my boot in your face if you let that fish get away," Kurogane promised, and then bent to pick the deer-thing back up. "Land it and then get your ass back to camp and help me dress this thing, since you're so picky about how food should be prepared."

Fye laughed, interpreting this grouchy order as approval of his catch and a determination that he'd done enough fishing for the day. He made an addition to his daydreams by imagining that it also meant that Kurogane wanted his company, and avoided self-examination by busying himself in doing what he'd been told. Good kitty.

Dressing and cutting up the cervid and then gathering up enough slender, straight sticks on which to skewer all the strips of meat took a fair bit of time even with nearly everyone at the camp pitching in as they could, and Mokona was the only one who had much energy left after dinner. She was assigned food-smoking duties by Kurogane once he got tired of batting her away, and the little bun spent most of the evening sitting by the little smoke-house Fye and Syaoran had fashioned out of broad leaves and strips of bark, feeding wood chips onto the hot coals at the mouth of it whenever the smoke started to thin out.

Fye had carefully seated himself in the same spot he'd chosen the night before, and once everyone's attention had drifted away or they'd drifted off to sleep, he attacked his mathematical problems once again. What he found made him both relieved and a bit apprehensive. Relieved, because he was fairly certain he saw an end to their current predicament. A bit apprehensive, because Kurogane was going to be so, so mad.


	3. Chapter 3

"Three MONTHS?" Kurogane shouted, sending a few startled songbirds scattering through the soft morning light. The man had impressive lungs, among other things, but Fye had taken the precaution of plugging his ears just as the man roared, so his eardrums remained intact. When he was certain that those two incredulous words comprised the entirety of the ninja's immediate reaction, the wizard un-shrugged his shoulders, lowered his hands and laughed.

"I told you I had bad news as well as good," he reminded the man. "The good news was my theory that it's the moon's influence that's keeping Mokona from whisking us out of here but that once it's in eclipse we should be able to get out of here without any problem. And come on, Kuro-pon. The bad news isn't all that bad."

It was only a theory, but Fye felt that it was sound. The only consistent variables he had been able to discern in their situation was their constant traveling and the moon's waning. Stopping to encamp for a couple of days had taken traveling out of the equation, but the lessening of the suppression of his magical abilities continued. So far as Fye could tell with only eyeball-based measurements and head-math, the fading of the dampening effect and the rate at which the moon was falling into eclipse seemed to match up. Calculating the surface area of the moon had been rather tricky, so he thought he could be off by a fortnight in either direction, but three months had been a good ballpark estimate of how much longer it would take for the moon to go dark.

"Three _months_?" the dark-haired man repeated, now growling instead of yelling, having gotten over his denial and beginning to settle into a sulk. "Three months of sitting around doing nothing but waiting for the stars to align?"

"Don't worry, we won't be bored," came the empty promise from Fye's lips. Yet another lie, but at least this one was well-meant. He certainly didn't intend on letting himself get bored, but it was definitely within the realm of probability, not just possibility, that the ninja would find the next quarter of a year to be excruciatingly unexciting. Fye turned to Sakura-chan next, who was looking relieved at the news that there was an end to their current predicament in sight, and true to her sweet, optimistic nature, was not worrying herself overmuch about the length of time it would take to reach that end. That was being taken care of by Syaoran-kun, but in a less explosive manner than his mentor.

"We'll take Big Doggy and Little Doggy on nice long walks every day, won't we, Little Kitty?" Fye asked brightly, and Mokona bounded into his arms with a cheerful promise to help. Taking the creature's paws in his fingers, the blonde danced her around in a little circle. Fye could almost _see_ waves of irritation rolling off the black-clad figure standing nearby. "Maybe we'll find a town soon, but then we'll have to keep Daddy out of the bars at night. Ooh, or find a nest of deep dragons to slay so he can get some exercise. We'll camp and fish and have berry eating contests and make little grass hats and tame a squirrel and..."

Kurogane gave a disgusted noise and began breaking camp, and Fye hid a light, affectionate laugh in giving Mokona a quick snuggle before setting her aside to help. Typical. A big blow-up, and then the man got down to business. It was amazing how violently the ninja would react to things, but then just as quickly, get over it and move on. Fye wasn't sure whether to categorize it as childish or mature. Maybe it was a mix of both.

They'd only been traveling for a week or so in this world, but being comprised of intelligent, responsible members - at least in the opinion of some - the group quickly fell into a sensible routine, sharing out duties according to ability and inclination. The blondes took care of almost all of the cooking and the swordsmen did almost all of the hunting. Everyone shared in the setting up and breaking down of their campsite, and the three males took turns patrolling. The training that Kurogane had begun with Syaoran in Outo was picked up again, giving the ninja another outlet for his energy - and aggression - in the late afternoons while Fye prepared dinner, assisted by his strawberry blonde sous-chef and long-eared tourmant. By her own claims, Mokona helped everyone do everything, but this was hotly contested by Kurogane.

And Fye kept daydreaming.

It was easy to continue the habit once it was established, and like many bad habits, it insidiously grew and rooted itself deep without attracting undue notice to itself until it was too late. With no dangers to constantly be on the alert for, no mystery to investigate and puzzle through, and no new issues to try and help the others face and overcome, Fye's active - perhaps overactive - imagination did the only thing it could do when there was no real work to be done. It goofed off.

At first there was nothing out of the ordinary in his little fancies. They were simply more of the same "imagine if" scenarios where he would take some little thing out of his observations and spin it into a daydream, usually just adding it to the existing scenario of their journey continuing on for years and years. As they walked single file through the endless grass, day after day, he imagined various snapshots and scenes from his daydream-future. Sakura-chan, waddling and slow with pregnancy. Syaoran-kun, rescuing Mokona from a teething toddler. Kurogane and himself, babysitting, with "Grandpa" not wanting to admit he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Fye whiled away hours coming up with new jokes that he and Mokona could make.

_Aw, our children are all grown up now, Kuro-Papa~ Does Kurogane-Grandpa still love Fye-Granny after all these years? You don't think I look my age, do you? Love keeps Fye-Granny looking youthful! Don't you miss the days when the children were so young and innocent? Mokona is still young and innocent; you haven't lost all your children! You know, it's not too late to have another one ourselves, Daddy._

Living through peaceful day after peaceful day, soon Fye found himself livening his daydreams up a bit by imagining scenarios closer to the present. He wondered what the next world they would warp away to would be like, and made up possible worlds and civilizations and adventures. The possibilities seemed to be endless; they'd visited worlds that had outstripped even his active imagination already, like fast-paced Piffle full of strange "technology" and the castle floating around the moon that had been accessible through Yama.

Yama. Their eye color had changed when they'd landed in that country. What if they visited a world where they all became half animal as soon as they dropped into it? Fye was charmed by the idea of temporarily having cat ears and a tail, and he would have traded away ten years of his life without blinking for the opportunity to play with an honest-to-goodness Kuro-Puppy. Maybe getting an injection of pack-animal mindset would make the growly-snappy ninja a little more affectionate and Fye would get to ruffle Kurogane's ears without getting his hand bitten off. He almost burst out laughing at the idea of being allowed to rub the Big Doggy's belly and had to discard that too-amusing daydream lest he expose himself.

What if they visited a world where people flew about on dragons instead of driving cars or riding horses? Flying with his Kudan's help in Hanshin Kyouwa had been exhilarating, even without the adrenaline rush of battle, and he'd thoroughly enjoyed riding in Jade and Yama. There was something about the sympathy of action and thought necessary when relying on another creature for transport that thrilled him beyond the mere movement. It was like dancing, but with an element of danger to make it even more exciting. Having a dragon mount would be incredible. He could just see them all; Syaoran riding double with Sakura-chan, himself on another mount with Mokona screaming in excitement by his ear as he urged his dragon into dives and rolls, and Kurogane flying high above them all on overwatch. It would be wild and free and _amazing_.

After his daydreams shifted from nebulous fantasies about the far-off, never-to-be-realized future into what-if scenarios closer to the present, they took a dive into even deeper and more dangerous waters. After a while Fye found himself adding little snippets of daydreams into the right here and now more and more often. It began with a fairly natural wonderment of what would have become of them all if the magical suppression had been unending and they'd gotten stuck here permanently, and evolved rapidly from there. He didn't have too much to wish for from the children, but he began inserting more imaginings into his interactions with the ninja until there was the actual reality plus an imagined relationship between them.

He knew that the dark-haired man was truly kinder than he wished to appear, but Fye expanded on it outrageously and imagined that the man was also awkward and shy of it, and liked and respect his blue-eyed companion far more than he'd admit. The two men would have a conversation - or an argument - out loud, and Fye would speak additional lines for his verbal opponent in his own mind or continue the conversation after it had ended, as if he were at a puppet play with just himself as audience. When one day he was surprised at Kurogane for snapping at him instead of smiling _as he'd expected him to_, Fye experienced a sinking feeling as he realized how far he'd let himself go down this slippery slope.

The wizard scolded himself for taking liberties with his companion's character and being so careless as to put himself in a position where he could have very well exposed himself and his carefully constructed lies. It was painful, however, to suddenly give up this bad habit, and Fye squirmed a while before finally offering himself a compromise. He would allow himself his little daydreams, but he would severely curtail his presumptuous puppeteering of Kurogane and only continue the more innocuous imaginings while they were stuck here on this peaceful world, under that omnipresent blue moon. Once they left this world behind, Fye promised to leave his dangerous daydreams behind as well. They were on vacation, and his daydreams were just one of the ways he was playing during their break. He would sober up and get back to work as soon as the vacation was over.

Surely that much was all right. Surely after all those years of torment and struggle, he could allow himself a little playtime. Surely his brother would not have begrudged him this little happiness...undeserved, not even real...but happiness all the same.

And so the daydreaming continued, and Fye got so caught up in them that he wasn't sure if he'd missed the first time or two that Kurogane slipped into a reverie of his own.

The first time he noticed was as they all sat around the campfire after dinner as had become their habit, the children cozily chatting and a lazy Mokona doing some inert chaperoning by dozing in between them. A very warm day and comfortably filling meal put the wizard into a rather lazy mood himself, and instead of trying to engage Kurogane in conversation, he simply curled his arms around his tented legs, rested his chin on his knees, and gazed at the dancing flames with heavy-lidded eyes while losing himself in his thoughts.

Instead of another daydream scenario, he simply let his mind wander, and in staring at the fire, began to ponder over the elements and his human companions. If he had to assign elements, he would have given Sakura-chan water, despite knowing that she came from a dry desert world. The girl was pure and clean and refreshed the spirits of those who had contact with her. He gave himself air, but didn't linger over the reasons very long. They were dark and grim, and he wasn't in the mood to look at them. Syaoran-kun and Kurogane gave him a bit of pause. At first he wanted to assign fire to the both of them, but yielded it to the younger man at last. He was passionate and driven beyond his years; "fiery" fit him well.

Fye lingered the longest over assigning earth to Kurogane, at first amusing himself in drawing comparisons between the man's stature to mountains and his bull-headedness to boulders. He soon enough made juster comparisons, however. Kurogane was no "Mother Earth" but he did have a protective, caring nature. It might be hidden away and its existence denied, but it was there all the same. And he nurtured. Certainly no coddling was involved, but he sought to improve his companions. One proof was to be found in how Syaoran-kun's swordsmanship continued to improve under the ninja's steady training. And Fye had noticed how Kurogane never stopped for the midday break until he'd pushed the little group a bit past the fatigue point. As a result, Sakura-chan was slowly building up her appetite and endurance at a better rate than she'd been able to before, in between feather-induced narcoleptic fits and scurrying from world to world and event to event.

The wizard wasn't certain how he fit into this aspect of the dark-haired man's circle of influence. Or rather, he didn't want to examine it too closely, and brushed that involuntary self-query off by deciding that Kurogane merely wished the blonde to be a little less airy and annoying, and was attempting to make it happen by threatening death and dismemberment. He wished the ninja good luck with that one.

His lips curved into a soft smile, and he slowly gave a fond look to each of his companions, keeping still so as not to attract their notice. Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun continued to be occupied with each other, and the smile on the wizard's face widened. The observation he'd made on them in Piffle still held, especially during this little "vacation" they were taking. He and Mokona joked about the two teenagers being Fye and Kurogane's "children", but it was true in a sense; they were children. One was a princess with great powers and the other had put his life on the line to protect and serve her, and both were maturing fast under the oft-times harsh and demanding life they were leading, but they were still only children. Children needed to laugh and have fun. They needed to feel safe, even if the feeling was sometimes only an illusion, and to feel protected and loved, and to be taught and led. They needed to play sometimes, and they needed to be able to relax. Take all these things away from a child, and he would grow up stunted in some way.

Case in point...himself.

He gave a soft sigh and cut his eyes over to Kurogane next, only to widen them in surprise as he found the ninja staring right at him. That was a bit of a nerve-stomper, and he tensed with that too-often repeated fear that the keen-eyed man could tell what he was thinking. Kurogane showed no reaction to being caught staring, however, and when Fye really looked, he found that those red eyes were turned toward him but had a faraway look to them. Moreover, the ninja's expression was not pulled into its habitual disapproving frown, but actually looked relaxed. Fye could almost see a faint ghost of a smile lingering about the man's lips.

It was something else to see that peaceful expression on the man's face, and the wizard tried to commit it to memory. Who knew when he'd see it again. Moving slowly, he repositioned his head so that his cheek, not chin, was resting on his knees so that he could stare without straining his eyes to the side quite so much. There was a new daydream just screaming to be fleshed out in sitting there like that, quietly staring at red eyes and being able to pretend that they were gazing right back, but it would be dangerous to drift off just now. And speaking of drifting off...Fye watched with extreme interest as Kurogane seemed to hover on the verge of doing just that. Red eyes grew heavy-lidded and that spiky head actually began to lean, and Fye watched a bit wide-eyed while holding his breath.

_Sweet merciful Saints on a_ stick..._Kurogane was actually_ relaxed. _Curses! Why wasn't there one of Tomoyo's little "camera" things handy?_

Unfortunately, one of the logs in the campfire suddenly made a sharp popping noise and woke the ninja from his reverie, and Fye was caught catching Kurogane almost-napping. Amused beyond reckoning, the wizard almost laughed aloud and called out something suitably teasing. He could see plainly that the man was perturbed at having been caught drifting - there was probably some silly rule in Nihon forbidding ninjas from being relaxed - so he refrained, however. Thinking to communicate his friendly intention of keeping this little slip-up between the two of them, Fye smiled and gave Kurogane a conspiratorial wink, but it seemed to either irritate or embarrass the dark-haired man, who stood up abruptly and betook himself to bed.

Fye watched him walk off the short distance to the cloak and bedroll already laid out on the grass, with Ginryuu laid across it like a guard dog - _guard dragon?_ - but Kurogane never looked back. The wizard gave a disappointed little huff and shepherded the children off to their beds a short while later, and then turned in to indulge in daydreams involving a more laid-back Kurogane despite his earlier good intentions regarding reforming his wayward imagination. Who knew? Perhaps he'd someday teach the man to smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** Eight months of brain-block and painfully forced writing, seven re-writes and three top-to-bottom edits later...I give you part four, which I hate. Ugh. Trying to write the same story from a different perspective is agonizing, because I don't want to re-use any of the original text but I can't get away from at least importing a good bit of dialogue in certain key points. T-T

My recent conversion to the idea that these two are romantically entwine-able, not just soulmates and best friends, may also be coloring this re-write. I can't tell anymore. I've stared at this for too long.

* * *

><p>The next morning Kurogane woke up grumpy, and his more-than-usually tense mood continued throughout the next few days. Fye at first wondered if he'd unwittingly given himself away with that too-familiar wink and clued the ninja in to the way that the line between fantasy and reality was being blurred inside Fye's head, but as the wizard anxiously kept a wary eye on the taller, he began to revise that theory.<p>

The children also noticed Daddy's grouchiness and - as sweet, caring children will - expressed their concern, each in their own way.

Sakura-chan asked the ninja if everything was all right one morning as she handed him his breakfast. It was a silly question, all things considered, but while Fye would have gotten swung at, Syaoran-kun chided and Mokona probably swatted away, the princess was treated gently enough to raise wistful blonde eyebrows on the wizard.

"It's nothing," Kurogane replied simply, along with a nod of thanks for the bowl she proffered.

"But Kurogane-san seems preoccupied, and that seems like _something_ is wrong," the girl persisted, her manner an endearing mix of earnestness and self-deprecating hesitation. "Even if the 'nothing' is really 'something' that no one can do anything about...or at least that I can't do anything about; the others are much more helpful...it might help Kurogane-san to talk about it? Oh! Not that talking to me would do much, perhaps, but...oh, Fye-san and Syaoran-kun are very smart and know a lot, and...I only thought that perhaps..."

As she spoke, she began to get more flustered and soon she was barely finishing any sentences. With a sigh, the ninja rescued her from the conversational hole she'd dug for herself, interrupting her with one hand raised between them as if about to plant his fingertips against her lips to shush her physically.

"I'm fine," he said firmly but with a sort of understanding kindness, and this more personal reassurance seemed to content the girl, who soon wandered off to pay attention to Syaoran. Whether it was that the princess's attention to the ninja had drawn the boy's there as well, or if Syaoran had been attentive to his mentor's moods already, Fye soon noticed that the young man was a little less relaxed himself.

The wizard almost made a joke about Little Doggy following in Big Doggy's paw-prints, but realized that it wasn't a simple mimicry of mood. The boy, so very serious and focused on their quest, had never really slacked off on vigilance but it increased now in subtle ways. During their morning and afternoon walks, Kurogane was as alert as he had been when they'd first arrived and not known whether this world was peaceful or fraught with dangers, and Syaoran's alertness also increased. Fye no longer caught the ninja napping by the fireside, and found the boy also moving about more to build up the fire or make yet another survey of their campsite's perimeter. The guard dogs were back on duty, and Fye pouted at this defection of Syaoran's from the vacation camp.

Mokona's teasing - in which the blonde joined shamelessly - also became a little less random as she picked up a general theme of Kurogane being irritable from boredom, what with there being no monsters or big bad men to fight. Based on all this, plus his own suppositions, Fye worked up an alternate theory that the ninja was ashamed in some way of having been caught relaxing - oh, _horror_- and was fighting against the whole "vacation" atmosphere that Fye was encouraging.

Such a waste of three months. The wizard decided to attempt remedying this at his earliest opportunity, and the world that they were in seemed sympathetic to the cause, for the opportunity was provided the very next day.

Their morning jaunt was interrupted by the discovery of what Mokona called a "strawberry patch" in the crook of a winding waterway, and Fye gleefully joined in the berry-picking. Having been born and raised in worlds bound by endless ice and snow, such lush, richly scented fruits were unfamiliar to him and he found as much delight in gathering the delicate white flowers as he did in sampling the thin-skinned berries. Wanting both hands free to pick fruit, Fye impulsively tucked his bunch of flowers behind one ear and playfully decorated the others' heads as well before resuming his snacking. The sweet smells of nectar and juice became almost overwhelming after a while, however, and he stood up to get a breath of slightly less cloying air.

A quick glance around showed Kurogane standing apart from the group, diligently keeping an eye on their surroundings and looking almost offended by all the sweetness of scent and laughter and enjoyment drifting up from the little hollow where the berries were flourishing. Fye's red-stained lips curved up in a fond smile and he imagined that the sour-puss of a warrior would likely find too prolonged a proximity to the berry patch to be nothing less than torture. Seeing a double-opportunity to do a kindness by the man and also lure him off for some private teasing, Fye sent the ninja away on his own to scout out a suitable campsite from which they could range out for a day or two to gather supplies in this fruit-rich section of the country. Such a thoughtful Mommy.

Kurogane took on the task with his usual lack of grace, but the wizard thought he could see a faint sense of relief at being able to pick their campsite himself, and indulged in the happy idea that the grumpy puppy knew he was being done a favor and was just too stubborn to admit it. Fye returned to the others and listened to Syaoran ramble on about berries and mythology and philosophy until he calculated that enough time had passed for the ninja to get a fair distance away. After asking their young lecturer to watch over the girls for him, Fye strode out of the berry patch and scanned the horizon.

"Now let's see. If I were a paranoid, hyper-vigilant ninja who hated fruit-and-floral perfumes...where would I go?" he pondered aloud, and then began walking away from the river and toward higher ground, keeping the wind in his face. Instinct and luck guided him well, and soon enough he found the ninja standing atop a low hill, facing away into the afternoon sun and seemingly lost in thought or deep in contemplation of a little stand of trees nearby. Fye kept quiet until he was fairly close, but as he drew in breath to call out to the man, Kurogane turned around as if he'd heard that little inhalation.

The dark-haired man had very keen hearing, but Fye found it difficult to believe that he'd been heard _breathing_ from several feet away and down-wind. The wizard decided that it was simply coincidence, and daydreamed that something - closeness, affection, a bond - allowed the ninja to sense when Fye was near.

"Found you, Kuro-bee~" Fye called out happily, and was, predictably, growled at. Ignoring the ninja's admonishment to respect his name for once, the wizard began chatting randomly, trusting that an opportunity to talk - or tease - the other man into embracing their vacation time for what it was would present itself. His attempt to lure Kurogane into the debate that the children had earlier engaged in about irresistible forces versus immovable objects failed spectacularly, but as the ninja himself gave Fye an opening to argue the vacation versus vigilance issue, Fye did not regret it for a moment.

"Cut the 'Daddy' crap and get back there," the ninja barked, interrupting one of the wizard's reassurances that the children were safe even though their parents were away. "Just because nothing's happened yet doesn't mean this world is safe." A light hand flapped this argument away dismissively and the usual argument about their situation began anew, with Fye insisting that the world was safe and that they should enjoy their vacation and Kurogane stubbornly sticking to the gloomier viewpoint that they were stranded against their wills on a possibly dangerous world. Their utterly serene stay thus far was on Fye's side of the debate, adding weight to the wizard's words and even making something saucy out of his casual, unguarded body language.

The disgruntled doggy seemed to understand that he was being silly, and being _told_ that he was being silly, and Fye could practically see the other's hackles rising. Hoping that he hadn't yet crossed over to the point where he was about to get smacked or slashed at, the blonde changed tack from teasing to reasoning, though he couldn't help but throw another nickname in.

"The children have learned to relax when they can and find enjoyment in the journey," he said in a light but sensible tone, sincerely wishing to persuade the other over to his way of thinking. "I think Daddy was starting to learn from their example, at least until a few days ago," he added, with a conspiratorial sort of smile.

_Yes, I noticed. I kept it a secret for you, so you should play nice with me for once, no?_

No, apparently. Instead of conceding to this unspoken plea-slash-blackmail, Kurogane curtly told the fair-haired man in no uncertain terms to shut up and return to the others. The man had a very one-track mind sometimes.

"Nope, not moving," Fye replied cheerfully, determined to stubborn the matter out until he got some sort of concession from the ninja.

"That makes me the Immovable Object in this scenario," he added, circling back to his earlier topic. The thoughts that ran through his dangerous daydreams of how he and the ninja contrasted but were compatible, differed yet were matched, made him think of another comparison between them and he impulsively blurted, "Guess what."

His companion seemed to see the suppressed excitement in the bright blue eyes twinkling merrily at him, and out of what might have been morbid curiosity, Kurogane rose to the bait.

"_What_?" the ninja asked, in a long-suffering, exasperated tone of voice.

Feeling almost manic at the too-perfect turn of the conversation, Fye made a sudden leap at the other man and grabbed two fistfuls of shirt in a deathgrip, pulling to bring his own body in close to the other man's. Until now, almost all of his invasions of the dark-haired man's rather large personal space had been quick strikes and then dances away to avoid a fist or sword edge. Kurogane was unused to the idea of being clung to - and Fye was unused to voluntary prolonged physical contact - so this sudden attack seemed to take the ninja utterly unawares and set him off-balance besides.

"That makes you the Irresistible Force!" Fye crowed, laughing gaily up at his captive. "Captive", of course, was probably an inaccurate word to apply. It was more like he'd grabbed hold of a dragon by the horns and now had no choice but to hold on or be shaken off and devoured. The fearsome beast he'd perhaps unwisely pounced on jerked away and tried to shake him off, but Fye clung as if for dear life. And considering Kurogane would probably try to kill him for this unprecedented breach of propriety, it was probably literally "for dear life".

Fye clawed his fingers into the material of Kurogane's shirt and stuck like a sticky thing to the ninja's left shoulder blade. The wizard calculated himself to be fairly safe there, with the ninja unable to make a proper grab with his left hand or reach far enough with his right. He was safe, but also stuck, with his only hope now to be able to tire the man out - good luck, self - or exasperate the ninja into making concessions.

"Get off of me, you stupid bastard!" the ninja raged, when it sank into his head that he wouldn't be able to just sling the blonde away.

"I caaan't," Fye replied, his voice lilting and laughing at the same time, caught up as he was in adrenaline and the ridiculousness of it all. "You're irresistible, Kuro-ruu, remember?" he then asked, purposefully changing the meaning of the word to suit him. As if everything - even abuse of grammar - about he wizard just naturally irritated the taller, Kurogane continued to reach for, twist away from and shout at his blonde burr to get off and get lost with increasing volume and violence.

It was so silly, so stupid, so much like his daydreams to be tussling like this - like puppies, like children, like _friends_- that Fye forgot himself somewhat and let his words, not just his actions, get a little out of hand.

"You'd be lonely without me, Kuro-pin," he asserted, in response to yet another demand that he detach himself and disappear. The ninja naturally denied this claim quite strenuously, but Fye took it as bashfulness and stubbornness and pride. Anything and everything except for what it probably was; the simple truth. Their little rotations on the hilltop continued, as did Fye's assertions and Kurogane's denials, adding to the almost surreal childishness of the argument.

Soon the wizard was laughing so hard at his companion's frustration that he was tearing up and losing his breath. Unwilling to let go in order to wipe his eyes - though he calculated that he wouldn't last all that much longer anyway if he couldn't get his giggles under control - Fye did the only thing he could think of to do; mushed his face into Kurogane's shoulder and used the ninja's shirt as a hankie. Wandering somewhere in the grey area between fantasy and reality, the mage hadn't realized what a tactical error this was. Somehow he'd thought that Kurogane would simply growl at him irritably and wait for him to catch his breath, and so when a large hand reached over to grasp and shove at his face, it startled Fye as much as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on him.

He moved on instinct, jerking himself back and pushing off of the ninja's arm and shoulder to avoid walking away with a cricked neck. A quick twist of his face broke him free of the clumsy grip the other man had on his face, and there was a split second where his features were hidden from view behind a curtain of fair hair. It was a good opportunity for him to collect himself, but instead he only took a small half-step back to reality.

He tossed his bangs out of his eyes and brought himself upright and right up against the ninja again with a quick tug on the shirt he'd never let go of, and looked up at Kurogane with all the mirth wiped right off of his face save for a tiny fragment of a smile still clinging to his lips. _Why did you do that?_ he thought at Kurogane, and to himself, _why wouldn't he, you fool?_ The two questions clashed and tangled together in his mind, neither gaining ascendancy, and his expression neither showed open contrition or smoothed out into a full mask of a cheeky grin. It was almost blank, save for that ill-fitted smile and a widening of the eyes that spoke surprise, and something lurking just under the surface that felt like betrayal.

He felt betrayed by the fact that Kurogane wasn't playing along with his fantasies.

_Why did you shove me like that?_ he thought, even though he'd been the first to take their physical contact beyond what it had ever been. Despite the death threats, despite the chases and swings, Kurogane had always maintained a certain distance between them. Fye too, had only prodded and patted, teased and taunted. He'd never clung like this, claimed an intimacy like this. They'd been after each other month after month. They'd never gotten close.

They'd never gotten close.

It was like a slap in the face, this realization that the distance between them wasn't as thin and gauzy as he'd thought even outside of his daydreams. His imagination might have run away with him, but it couldn't have gotten such a splendid running start if there hadn't been something to provide traction. He'd been convinced - had convinced himself? - somewhere along the way that there was interest, at least, on the ninja's part. Perhaps even a bit of respect, and a fair bit of trust. There was something between them, and Fye had stated that the ninja would miss it if it faded.

_Like hell I would!_ Kurogane had replied.

_Yes you would! _Fye had teased, meaning it. Not meaning it. Believing it.

_I wouldn't!_

"You would," Fye said, without even really meaning to speak it aloud. The words sounded a bit strained and strange, as if the stiff smile lingering on his face were distorting the usual false cheer of his voice. "You'd be lonely." _Say it. Admit it. Make it real._

"I'd be relieved," the ninja growled irritably, no longer shouting but obviously not in a friendly mood.

"You'd miss the nicknames," Fye insisted. _You'd miss _me. "And you'd start to look for me, wonder where I was and what I was doing." _You'd think of me, worry about me...you'd _care. _Say it._

Not being psychic - and probably not being amenable to the wizard's unspoken suggestions even if he could have heard that almost desperate voice inside that blonde head - Kurogane only replied as he had before, derisively and dismissively, and Fye continued on in the same vein as well.

"You'd notice it within a week, admit it to yourself within a fortnight, and I bet you'd even admit it to _me _before a month went by."

"You are annoying the hell out of me; I bet _that'll_ never change no matter how much time passes. Get. Off. Go. Away." Though Kurogane hadn't made any further violent attempts to dislodge him since that startling shove, he now shook his left arm. It was only a brief little shrug of sorts that wouldn't have budged even Sakura-chan, but Fye almost let go. He hung on with increased stubbornness instead, determined beyond reason to carry his point somehow.

"Is it a bet, then?" he asked, feeling daring without actually wanting to be, daring the ninja to accept without really wanting him to. _Say no. Say yes. What am I saying? What am I doing?_

"_What?_" came the reply, all confusion and irritation and impatience. Fye could practically feel desire to escape radiating from the ninja - like his body heat, seeping through cloth and skin and all the walls he tried to maintain and then ended up clawing at with his own hands - and rushed on.

"I bet that you'll admit that you miss the teasing within one month," he explained, the words falling faster and faster from his lips. This whole conversation was like a hill he'd started down without realizing how steep it truly was, and before he knew it he found himself running pell-mell downhill without any way of stopping, just hoping that speed and instinct would keep him from falling flat on his face and skidding the rest of the way down. "If you don't, you can tell me to do one thing and I'll do it, no matter what it is. Color my hair pink, call you by your proper name, never talk to you again unless absolutely necessary..."

He could have laughed at his first idea, felt a slight pang at the second and cursed himself for offering the last. The blonde's uneasy smile had fallen away entirely somewhere during this last turn of the conversation, and he shrugged in discomfort as if he hoped to dislodge his anxiety with the gesture.

"Anything," he added at the very end, voice as faded as his cheer. _Ask me anything. Ask me to stop lying to you. Ask me to trust you with the truth, and tell me you'll forgive me for it, no matter what it is._ The silence that followed stretched out, seeming like an hour but probably only spanning one minute at the most, and then the ninja spoke.

"Fine," Kurogane said, and though Fye waited expectantly for more than just this monosyllable, nothing was forthcoming.

"Don't...you want to know what I get if you give in?" the wizard finally asked. He hadn't actually thought about it himself, and his mind raced to come up with something.

"No, because it'll never happen," Kurogane said curtly, and then jerked his arm away in a sudden attempt to get free once again. Already surprised at having gotten a concession of sorts and off-balance in so many ways, the blonde was taken unawares and made no move to re-attach himself either. Instead, Fye raised his hands in a placating manner, wanting to avoid pushing his companion any further into irritability.

He looked up at Kurogane searchingly. The man had accepted the bet, and now Fye was committed to it as well. One month. He had one month to make the ninja miss what he thought - hoped, believed - was camaraderie. Companionship. Closeness. To make him miss it, to realize that they were already friends, and then to make him _admit_ it in the hopes of being even better friends in the future. To know that they would be stronger together than apart, and to _be_ stronger together, in order to overcome tragedy, fate and Fei-Wang Reed.

_One month. I have one month to make you see me. One month in which to make you understand who I am, who I could be if you'd only unbend a little and _help me.

"We should get back to the others," Fye suddenly said, along the thought-lines of showing the ninja that he could be sensible as well as silly. He gave a small but sincere smile, unpracticed at something so simple and honest, and then spun away before it could crack and crumble from sheer nerves.

_One month to make you admit that I'm not _just_ a lying idiot, and then I am going to ask you to be my friend._


End file.
